The path to good runs through bad, and that goes for art forms we don’t even consider art forms, like friendship, parenthood, and citizenship. But the only thing that gets us better is practice. — Hank Green
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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’
The Path to Good
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, another Hank Green quote, art in life, creativity, inspiration, life, practice, Thoughts, writing on July 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Listen
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, life, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” — Parker J. Palmer
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A Bit of Magic
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts on June 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” — J.B. Priestley
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Find Your Audience
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, audience, connection, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing advice on June 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“You’re trying to find your audience. And the way to find your audience is by being fully yourself in an engaging and interesting way.” — DongWon Song
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Gibson Riffs
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, interviews, read stuff, sci-fi, sff, Thoughts, William Gibson, write stuff, Writers, writing on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
William Gibson riffs on writing and the future
So I would recommend that people read a lot, and as broadly as possible, and then I would suggest that people write a lot. You have to have written a very good deal in order to become really good at it. And if you do it often enough and pay sufficient attention, you’re much more likely to get somewhere than if you don’t.
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An Encouraging Thought
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #keepwriting, creativity, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Advice, Unexpected
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, helpful advice, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Some days the advice you need comes to you at just the right time, all unexpected.
Lorem Ipsum and Light Bulbs, Hank Green
You’ve probably heard the bowl story, or some version of it, but I’m going to tell it to you again. Some diabolical teacher split his ceramics students into two groups. One group was told to spend the entire semester making one perfect bowl. The other group was graded on sheer volume… just make as many bowls as you can, quality be damned.
At the end of the semester, the group that was told to just make a bunch of bowls made the better bowls.
This is a common idea in creative circles, but Hank’s version popped up in my inbox just when I needed to hear it.
Maybe it will help you too?
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Story Ideas
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
It’s a classic question for writers: “Where do you get your ideas?” In my experience, they come from lots of sources, and certainly not the same places for everyone. Find what interests you and follow it. Think big, think small, think sideways.
And if you’re stuck or just looking for new inspiration, you could do worse than follow advice from one of the masters of the field.
“Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.” — Ray Bradbury
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Becoming
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“One is not born, but rather becomes, oneself.” — Simone de Beauvoir
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Getting the Sad Out
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #messyfeels, creativity, current events, drabble, Fiction, free to be, music, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »
I try to keep things fairly light here, so when I write a piece that is… not that, I can end up in a bit of a bind.
Do I share because that’s where I was on that particular day? I don’t, usually. For example, I recently wrote a drabble that has not even a sprinkling of humor to lighten the mood. That’s how it goes sometimes.
I’ve been writing less than I’d like, and what I do write is darker than I’d like. It’s easy to get distracted by the world. But that’s also our context right now, and what we need to get through in order to move on to the next better thing.
It’s like football great Rosey Grier’s classic song, “It’s Alright to Cry”:
“It’s all right to cry
Crying gets the sad out of you.”
So today I’m going to share one of my darker drabbles, because what is art if not a reflection of the maker’s time and place? (But I’ll add an extra step to view here in case this isn’t your thing right now.* I get it!)
Remember I Love You
“I love you,” she would say as I ran outside.
Determined, I searched for water, scrap metal or other goods extricated from the rubble. Fuel, usually the kind that used to be someone’s house. Food, always.
Anything to keep the family going. I learned that from my mother.
She stayed with my little brother. He stopped crying two days ago.
“Remember I love you,” she’d say, her eyes turned away from the morning sun. She watched our last pot simmer, making stew with whatever she could find.
Her hand could still grasp the wooden spoon.
She had three fingers left.
Told you it was dark. But if that’s the rain, I think we’ve earned a rainbow!
* With apologies to my email subscribers, who apparently get the unfiltered version.
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